Parks Family

Christmas

2011-12-31T09:13:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy Christmas this year. The season began with Tiffany's piano students Christmas recital. Jared played in the recital as well. It was his first time playing in public and he did well despite his nerves, playing The First Noel.

A night or two before Christmas Eve the kids made gingerbread (graham cracker) houses.

Christmas morning was wonderful. The kids enjoyed all their gifts and spent the morning playing with them.

Christmas Pajamas

Gifts from Santa

Best Moment #1 Anna and Jared giving hugs and kisses after opening each others gifts for one another.

Best Moment #2 Audrey playing with her favorite toy: packing peanuts

Christmas afternoon Kevin drove to the Reagan Airport to pick up his Sister, Kristen, her husband, Hyrum, and their son, Will. We had a nice week hanging out, going on walks, playing games, visiting D.C., and the temple.

Taking a bath

Putting together a Christmas present

Strolling D.C.

Museum of Natural History

Sister/Brother

Inner Harbor

Teaching Uncle Hyrum the finer points of Go-Fish

Sharing secrets

After dropping Kristen, Hyrum, and Will off at the airport we headed to the Temple to see the lights.

Hope everyone else's Christmas was as wonderful as ours.

Fall Soccer

2011-11-19T11:38:00.001-05:00

Jared and Anna both played soccer this fall and they had so much fun! Anna's team, The Tornadoes, never won a game, but they had an enthusiastic group of kids that always did their best.

Yes we know this is a bad throw in, but hey it is her first year.

That's my girl steal that ball.

Jared's team, The Crush, on the other hand ended up champions undefeated! They had a great group of kids that played really well together. We didn't get many action shots because we were too busy cheering, but here are a few.

This is during the Championship warm up. It was freezing!

His team

His trophy

Anna played a lot of defense and Jared played in goal (he was the best goalie on the team) and defensive midfield. Anna had several tackles and Jared had several assist and only let in two goals. They had about as much fun as we had watching them play.

Halloween

2011-11-06T18:24:00.000-05:00

The Costumes:
Harry Potter

Ahsoka Tano

Rapunzel

We stuck close to home this year and had a fun time in our neighborhood trick or treating. This was the first year that Audrey really "got it". The kids ended up with tons of candy and can't seem to eat if fast enough. Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Birthdays

2011-10-30T20:39:00.006-04:00

So we have had two birthdays this fall. The first was Anna's 7th birthday. She had a special guest visiting for her Birthday, Grandma Alaska. Anna picked out a sunflower cake and loved all the presents that she was given.

Anna Facts:
Favorite food: Fruit. Just about any kind
Favorite color: Pink
Favorite thing to do: Pick out her own "outfits" and play with the neighbors
Anna is playing on her first organized sports(soccer)team and is mostly concerned that she has matching ribbons in her hair for the games. She is our little prankster and we love her so much

For Jared's birthday it snowed! (It was snowing the day he was born too.) He loves anything Star Wars so I made him a Death Star ice cream cake. He said that was his favorite gift (love that boy) He is such a sweet boy.

Jared Facts:
Favorite food: Tomatoes hands down
Favorite color: Green and Orange
Favorite thing to do: Play his new Star Wars Monopoly game
Jared is also playing on a soccer team and so far is undefeated. He hasn't scored yet, but he has had several assist and loves putting his whole heart into every practice and game. He is also learning to play the trumpet. We are lucky to have him as part of our family.

We Love Grandma!

2011-10-12T18:30:00.006-04:00

We Love Grandma at Dental School...

We Love Grandma in Philadelphia...

We Love Granmda picking apples...

We Love Grandma...

We had a lot of fun playing, watching soccer practices and games, taking in some history, riding the metro, picking apples, and just spending time with Grandma Alaska. We also got a bonus visit from Uncle Bubs. Anyone else want to come visit? We would love to have you!

3 hour Project

2011-09-10T12:10:00.005-04:00

Kevin has been needing a project and Audrey provided one. She moved out of her crib earlier this summer, but we didn't have a big girl bed for her so she had been sleeping on her crib mattress directly on the ground. We thought it would be nice for her to have an actual bed to sleep in and Kevin volunteered to build one for her. She was really excited and supervised the whole project.

"Keep working Dad!"

It started coming together and looking like a bed and Audrey could hardly contain herself. She brought out her pillow as encouragement.

The finished project looks great! Now we will have to see if she can contain her excitement long enough to take a nap.

The Local Circus

2011-09-01T07:41:00.005-04:00

The local Circus came to our door step the other day. The master of ceremonies was the Amazing Anna the Clown.

The neighborhood kids came to our front lawn and saw acts of all kinds. Jared the Juggler, Amazing Anna the Clown, The Jump Rope Siblings, and the Incredible Dancing Dogs (Dixon and Sophie)

Anna arranged the whole thing and had a great time was had by all.

OBX Trip

2011-08-14T18:12:00.011-04:00

We have been talking about taking a vacation to the Outer Banks for a few years now and we finally were able to make it work. Kevin has a classmate who's parents own a home in Kill Devil Hills, NC and he offered to rent it out to our family for a few days last week. It was the cutest little house about two blocks from the ocean.

The first day we got there we went strait to the beach. The tide was coming in which made for great shell finding, but also made for rough waves. Somehow everyone ended up still having fun in the water (76 degrees)

Audrey playing in the sand

Jared, about to get pounded by a wave.

Anna, coming in from boogie boarding.
One morning I got up early for a run and caught the sunrise out of the ocean. It was stunning.

We discovered that the best time to play in the ocean is in the morning as the tide is going out. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, boogie boarding, and digging for crabs.

Audrey got brave and went to the water.

Anna, so proud of her sand ball.

Jared, digging for shells.

Sand mermaids.

Digging for crabs.
One evening we went to some HUGE sand dunes for some kite flying and dune jumping. It was really fun. The weather was perfect for the kite flying. Audrey got the kite up and she thought it was the most amazing thing. She was so proud of herself.

Sliding down the dunes.

We caught the sunset over the sound. The colors were so beautiful. We had so much fun and made a lot of great memories.

Dominican Dental Externship

2011-08-03T08:12:00.033-04:00

During my 4th year in dental school I am required to participate in a dental externship. The length of externship depends on location, most stateside externships are 3 weeks, while oversea exterships are only a week. So due to the length of international externships and the opportunity to travel abroad, these foreign sites become very desirable amongst the dental students. So early this year I applied and interviewed for the DR site. We were excited to find out in early February that I was selected for this unique opportunity. So on July 2nd, I embarked to the DR, my first time out of the country. So naturally, I took pictures of a lot of random things...

and...

We landed in Santo Domingo then drove to El Cercado.
This is a view from where I was sitting in the back of the bus...

and...

and...

On the way to El Cercado we stopped at this little roadside restaurant...

The food was delicious but we had to be careful not to eat anything that might have been washed with the water. When we arrived in Santo Domingo there were signs everywhere about the Cholera outbreak.
When we arrived in El Cercado it was late so we unpacked and crawled in bed. The next morning we awoke to this...

and this...

and this...

Had to include a picture of me, (it's for my mommy).
On the 3rd we unpacked all the dental supplies and organized the clinic in El Cercado.

Then Diana, a close friend from dental school and my metro buddy, Frank and his wife, Cheryl, and I drove up the mountain to our little town, Hondo Valle. Here are some of the views on the way up the mountain...

and...

and...

As you can see, the roads aren't in the best condition.

Once we arrived in Hondo Valle, we unpacked our supplies in our little clinic,

then went to our little apartment. Here is a view from our little balcony...

We started working on Monday without electricity. So, we didn't have power to run our drills, to have air conditioning (I think the only AC is found in automobiles and the major cities). Our assistants in Hondo Valle were chosen from the community as exemplary youth. They were great! The would set up our stations, hold a flashlight so we could see what we were doing, and give post op instructions to the patients when we finished with the procedures.

Here are two of our assistants...

On Tuesday, after finishing with our morning patients we drove to the Haitian border. Here are some of the views...
This cute girl was standing outside of her home (it's in the background). On our return trip she was outside with two of her siblings, she was the only one clothed.

These ladies were doing the laundry but on our return trip they were bathing in the river.

I took this picture b/c this was a common roadside house.

A view of a Haitian market...people would bring their farmed goods in exchange for money. Then turn around and purchase rice, noodles, oil, and other items to carry back up the mountain. I was amazed at home much they could carry on their heads. I wish I took a picture, one lady had a 50lb bag of rice on her head, another bag under one arm, and a switch in the other to direct her donkey up the mountain. If only she had a minivan!

Then we all walked up to a monument of a Haitian man who was killed for crossing the DR border. He was buried half in Haiti and half in the DR...

Here is a group shot of everyone that went on our little excursion...

Here is a photo of our other group of assistants, the P.M. crew.

This is a picture of all the students from the dental school that came on the trip.

We had an incredible experience! The country was beautiful, the food was fantastic, and the people will forever hold a special place in our hearts. I look forward to going back to Hondo Valle in the future and hope I can take my family next time. It was great to return home and to share this experience with them. I hope you enjoy it too.

Assateague Island

2011-07-23T07:46:00.002-04:00

We took mom and the kids to Assateague Island this week. Temperatures were in the upper 90's so it was perfect for some water fun. The first day we played on the Bay side of the island. The water was so warm and you could walk out for a mile or more without the water going past your waist. the kids loved it. The next day we were on the ocean side. The water was cooler, but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying the waves. Everyone had fun swimming, building castles, finding ponies, and staying cool.

New York Trip

2011-07-19T17:15:00.015-04:00

While Grandma California is visiting us we thought we would take a trip up to New York to see the Hill Camorah Pageant and other church history sites. So we packed everyone up and made the 5.5 hour drive to Palmyra, NY

Before we went to Palmyra we stopped in Rochester where our hotel was. As we were driving through the town we saw some aircraft doing some amazing tricks. Come to find out the Blue Angels were doing an airshow right down the street from our hotel the following day and we were watching their practice. It was crazy some of the things they can do.

After we checked into our hotel we made our way to the Hill Comorah.

(The monument at the top of the hill)

(All the chairs set up for the pageant)
While we waited for the pageant to start we drove over to the Sacred Grove and the Smith homes. This was mom's and the kid's first time there. We all felt the special spirit that resides there.

(The grove from the apple orchard)

Back at Comorah we snapped a picture with some cast members and waited patiently for the program to begin. It was amazing. The script and music were wonderful and the set and special effects were really neat. I'm so glad we were able to go and take the kids.

It was so late by the time we got in our car to get back to the hotel the kids crashed in the car.

After a good night sleep we were ready to tackle a new day filled with fun. First on the itinerary was to head over to Niagara Falls. Wow! amazing. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Incredible!
After Niagara we went back to Palmyra and spent some more time at the Grove and the Palmyra Temple.

After that we checked into our campsite where we took no pictures. (darn it!) It was a nice little KOA and we wished we had spent more time there. By far the most memorable moment of the trip was that night when we were all trying not to laugh at Audrey body slamming Jared while attempting fall asleep. Lots of fun and memorable moments.

Let Freedom Ring

2011-07-04T20:58:00.008-04:00

Our 4th of July began with our Ward's patriotic Breakfast. The cub scouts were asked to present the colors and they did a wonderful job.

When we got home we made these fun shirts.

It was a last minute stab at doing something fun for the 4th with Kevin out of town. We had the paint left over from previous projects and the shirts are some of Jared's undershirts. They had fun putting them together.
Later that evening we met up with our neighbors for popits, sparklers, and fireworks. The popits and sparklers were a hit.

I love this next picture because it captures each of our children's reactions to the fireworks so perfectly.

Jared is covering his ears, he has always been sensitive to loud noises. Audrey looks like she is ready to run away as fast as she can, she was not a fan. Anna is in the process of exclaiming, "This is awesome!"

Our Neighbors

After our fireworks we headed inside for a little treat and then off to bed. We missed our dad today, but managed to find some fun things to do in his absence.

Splish Splash

2011-06-30T08:15:00.004-04:00

We are lucky to have some really great neighbors. Every afternoon, after naps, out comes the scooters, trikes, wagons, cars, balls, bubbles, and chalk. The little girls ride up and down the sidewalk swapping vehicles, Anna is usually busy looking for bugs, and Jared is playing with the neighbors dog. We really enjoy living so close to great people. The other day one of our neighbors brought out a sprinkler for the kids. The little ones didn't think much of the cold water being sprayed in their faces, but Jared and Anna had a blast.

At first they didn't know what a sprinkler was. On the east coast, where it rains regularly throughout the year, there hasn't been much exposure to sprinklers, because there is no need, so this was a new experience for them. It was tons of fun. Thanks to our awesome neighbors and their fun sprinklers.

(I love this action shot and Anna's face)

Raspberries

2011-06-23T08:52:00.006-04:00

We love You Pick farms and yesterday we discovered a new farm, Larriland Farms, for raspberry picking. We braved the stifling heat and humidity and started loading up our box.

All Audrey wanted to do was hold our loot. This made us all a little nervous when the box would start to tip over.

Audrey spent most of her time munching on raspberries, Anna helped her friend fill his bucket, but Jared was a hard worker and filled over half of ours.

Next time we will have to try their blueberry patch.

Father and Son Camp Out

2011-06-22T13:17:00.004-04:00

Our Ward's Father and Son camp out was held at a Ward member's property. The weather was perfect. The afternoon in the 80's and the night cooled down to the 60's. They had fun.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

2011-06-11T18:38:00.004-04:00

May and June has found our family three days a week at the ball park watching Jared play Baseball. His team, The Blasters, are doing well and having fun. Jared plays Left field, Center field, and Second base. He occasionally gets to pitch, which really makes his day. We just finished the third round in the playoffs today with a come back win in the last inning scoring four runs! Lots of fun, excitement, and cheering. Here are some pictures of us at the ball games.

Jareds Team

At bat.

Awesome catch.

The girls play with other siblings at the game or they play on the toys at the park

After the game the coach asked the team why they thought he was so proud of them. The answer of coarse was that they never gave up as a team.

Saying Goodbye

2011-05-28T07:52:00.003-04:00

The worst part about May (at least till next year) is graduation. Every year a new group of freshly graduated dentist pack up and move away to destinations far away. We gather and say goodbye and wish them all well. In years past there we some sad goodbyes, but nothing that compares to this year. This year we say goodbye to the Johnsons, Andersons, Millers, and the Blooms. A few years ago they took pity on us as the only Members in our class and made us honorary members of theirs.
The first to leave have been the Johnsons. This was a tough goodbye mostly because our kids are such good friends, playing together everyday after school. We all walked over to Ritas and had a treat.

Jared and Isaac

Anna and Lexi

Audrey and London
After our little treat we walked home. Jared and Anna both cried and cried. The following day I found Anna sitting in her bed holding a picture of Lexi just looking at it with tears in her eyes. After picking up the kids from school Jared stayed in the car I went to check on him and he was crying. When I asked him what was wrong he answered, "I've been holding it in all day. I really miss Isaac" It has been a few days now and everyone is getting a little bit better (Even Kevin after saying by to his boyfriend Andy), but it still breaks my heart.
Fair well Johnsons we will miss you (Andersons Blooms Millers we will miss you too!)
Good luck to everyone!

Pinewood Derby

2011-05-19T21:01:00.003-04:00

Building the car.

Lining it up just right.

Awaiting the results.

The rest of the pack.

Lots of fun.

Happy Late Easter

2011-05-03T22:01:00.003-04:00

DECORATING THE EGGS:

OUR SESAME STREET EGGS:

(Oscar, Elmo, and Cookie Monster)

BASKET DISCOVERING:

EASTER SUNDAY BEST:

Primary Arts Night

2011-04-29T18:55:00.003-04:00

Jared and Anna's school held a Primary Arts night for each grade. It is a night where the children display their artwork and show off there musical abilities. Anna's group put together a little musical play called Under the Sea. Anna's class sang a song called "We are sharks" It was so fun to see how intothe music Anna got. She was shaking her fist and hips to the beat.

Jared's group performed on the recorders. He had practiced (relentlessly) his song everyday the week before and his class did a great job.

After the shows we went out to Rita's for some Italian Ice to celebrate.

The Plan

2011-04-22T08:17:00.009-04:00

Don't you just love it when you make a plan and then everything goes wrong? I am sure Heavenly Father just shakes his head and sighs at our big plans and then hopes we will be able to enjoy our journey as the plan gets thrown out the window. This week is Spring Break for the kids and we planned to take them to the National Zoo in D.C. We had been before and really enjoyed it. Thursday Kevin only had an early test scheduled and the weather was perfect so we planned on loading up and driving down to see the animals. We made it to Connecticut Ave in good time and then about half way down the street all traffic stopped. There was road construction, city trash pick up, crazy pedestrians, you name it and it was there. The kids handled the delay well being silly in the car.

I thought of taking a picture of Kevin, but in the interest of safety decided against it. About 40 minutes and 2 miles later we saw the entrance to the zoo where there was a nice man who's only message was:

So after turning around, consoling some disappointed kids, and 40 minutes later we ended up here:

I can't tell you how nice it was to get out of the crazy traffic with all its stress and noise and come to the temple. We didn't stay too long, but long enough to feel the calming effects of the Spirit. We walked the grounds and looked through the visitor center. Jared, having recently heard our proposal story, insisted on seeing the place where Kevin asked me to marry him. The grounds have changed a lot since then, but we found roughly the spot and took a reenactment picture. If you look closely Kevin is offering his wallet and I'm taking it. Jared thought it was hilarious.

11 years 4 months later and now we have these sweet kids.

After the temple we got a late lunch at Chick-fil-et and to be honest that stop got the most thank you's and smiles. After we got home we planned on going to the park near our home and playing some catch and frizbee, however when we got there they had just sprayed the ground with fertilizer. Instead we made our way to some tennis courts and played there.
The Boys:

The Girls:

The Old Plan: Take family to the Zoo for a fun filled day of making family memories
The New Plan: Take family on an adventure where we learned to adapt with good attitudes, feel the spirit, and enjoy each others company while making fun family memories.

Sleepy Anyone?

2011-04-16T15:06:00.001-04:00

My Name is Audrey

2011-04-12T21:15:00.006-04:00

Hi my name is Audrey and I just turned TWO!

My Brother and Sister made a Birthday sign for me...

and my mom made some yummy Elmo cupcakes for me.

My Grandmas and Grandpas sent me some really fun presents. They know how much I love Elmo and all things Sesame Street and I am stocked with Elmo books, stickers, clothes, and even a pillow! I love them so much and I carry everything around with me in my new Elmo backpack.

After dinner I got to blow out my birthday candles. Did you know you shouldn't try to touch a burning candle?

You can bet I wont be trying that again!

Thank you to all who made my Birthday Special!

Jared's April Fools

2011-04-02T18:47:00.004-04:00

Jared wanted to "get" his teachers and friends for April fools. Where we live Pro football is serious business and with the Ravens practice facility just around the corner from our front door EVERYONE is a Ravens fan. Every Friday the WHOLE town is dressed in Raven colors, seriously the WHOLE town. One of the teams rivals happens to be the Steelers. So Jared came up with this...

When I dropped the kids off at school the teacher on carpool duty read the sign and said, "oh really! Number one fan huh?" Jared promptly did this...

She then said,"Its a good thing or I'd send you home" Kidding of coarse-kind of.
He had fun with his little April Fools trick fooling most of his teachers and friends. What a funny guy.

"I Do It"

2011-03-31T08:16:00.002-04:00

Don't worry about me mom, as you sit on the couch with your book, I got this!

Audrey's Obsession

2011-03-24T21:08:00.004-04:00

Somewhere somehow Audrey has discovered Elmo and she is in love. This little girl walks around the house singing, "la la la la, la la la la, Elmo's world." She begs for Elmo everything; movies, juice, music, books, crackers, and clothes. We got her some Elmo PJ's and she has been over the moon for them.

The only problem with these PJ's is that at some point they have to come off.

Poor girl, no one understands her pain.

Anna's new trick

2011-03-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

Anna is a two wheelin' bike rindin' fool!

She has been asking us this past week if we would teach her how to ride a bike without the training wheels or as she says, "I want to be a two-wheeler rider." The weather was great so we went out and gave it a try. Most of the time she was too busy giggling to pay attention, but after a while she got it down. She couldn't be more proud of herself.

Good Job Anna!

Weekend Visitor

2011-03-13T22:12:00.004-04:00

This weekend we had a visitor. Anna's school class pet Speedy the Russian tortoise stayed with us. Anna made him a welcome sign.

She let him explore the house. Audrey didn't think much of him and every time he walked toward her she would back up real fast and beg to be picked up. Anna loved having speed over and is really sad to see him go back to class.

Chores

2011-02-26T09:56:00.004-05:00

There is a saying that goes something like "a lazy mom does everything for her children" If this is true then I am that mom. I've always liked things tidy and I've always done all the cleaning, but I've realized that my kids have no idea how to put anything away and Kevin has no idea where anything is in the house. So this Saturday I put everyone to work. Things took a lot longer to get done and it wasn't exactly the way I'd do it, but my kids learned how to clean a toilet and Kevin discovered where the camping supplies were kept.

Jared and Anna had to both clean out their rooms and it was interesting to see how they tackled their rooms. Jared was quick and was more interested in checking it off his list as done than getting a clean room.

Anna's approach was to pull everything out into organized piles and then put it all back in its place.

Maybe things will stay cleaner now they know what it takes to get it clean

Finally!

2011-02-16T15:21:00.003-05:00

Our computer was hijacked (actually it was getting fixed) so here are some catch up pictures and stories.

Ladies Man:

Jared comes home from school on Valentines day and shows me a piece of paper with a note on it from one of his friends. He asks, "Mom what do I do with this?" The notes says Happy Valentine's Day. Love, Gaby (###)###-#### His friend who sits next to him in class gave him her phone number! Kevin thinks it is awesome and can't stop laughing.

Funny Girls:

Best friends and worst enemies.

New Toy:

Jared was so excited to get this from Santa (Mrs. Clause lost that toy choice) and loves playing it with everyone.

Adversity

2011-02-04T21:14:00.002-05:00

This is my roommate from college. She is amazing. This video was put together for a video competition. Her story is inspiring and I thought I'd share.

Snowmageddon?

2011-01-29T08:22:00.008-05:00

Not quite, but enough snow to stop the town. In the last two weeks the kids have only had 3 days of school due to school closings. This last Wednesday our area got anywhere from 9-12 inches in 7 hours. It was a winter mix with sleet, ice and snow. The night of the storm was really nasty, but the next day was beautiful.

The last two days have been spent outside getting thoroughly soaked and having a blast.

Jared and his buddy, Isaac, made this snow cave. What are we going to do when they move this year!?

All Audrey wants to do is eat the snow.

Our little neighborhood sledding hill.
Lots of fun, but now it is time for kids to go back to school!

Little Girls

2011-01-13T22:07:00.004-05:00

Anna got some play makeup for Christmas and within an hour of opening it up this is what we got.

Anna has always been girlie and Audrey just adores her big sister. A few months ago they came upstairs in dress up clothes and danced around for us.

What can we say, they never cease to put a smile on our faces.

Christmas in Alaska

2011-01-07T09:20:00.012-05:00

Whenever we would mention our destination for Christmas people would question, "Alaska!? Really? Why would you go to Alaska in the winter?" Our answer: "Grandma and Grandpa live there." The next question that usually followed was something like what is there to do there in the winter. Well the answer is plenty.
You could go sledding.

You could build snow forts in your backyard.

If it gets too cold outside you could ask Grandpa to take you to a jump zone.

You could hang out with your family.

If you get a little "cabin fever" you could always go back outside and jump in the jacuzzi.

You could dance at a family wedding.

Dump Kevin in the snow (a favorite past time)

So there you have it, Alaska in the winter. We had tons of fun playing and hanging out with family. The kids have been begging us to move there after Dental school. We tell them we'll move just about anywhere we are offered a good job. Although living next to these guys would be lots of fun.

Cousins are the Best!

2011-01-05T22:00:00.003-05:00

Noah, Audrey, Rafe, Taylor, Anna, Finn, Jared, Will, Austin, Lincoln, Lydia, and Ethan. Each one is each other's best friend, worst enemy, and partner in crime. It was so much fun to watch and listen to them play together. We miss them all so much!

Brrrrrrrr......

2011-01-01T12:42:00.003-05:00

Just one of the many things we did on our trip to Alaska.

And there is more to come...

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-22T07:39:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Playing Hookie

2010-12-19T19:09:00.004-05:00

Jared and Anna have been working on some goals and as a reward in accomplishing their goals they each picked out a movie they wanted to see. Jared's goal was practicing the piano everyday without complaining. He really wanted to see the new Harry Potter movie so it made for the perfect incentive(bribe). We surprised him one school day afternoon and picked him up and went to the movie theater. He could not have been more excited. He is such a great kid!

Anna has been working on her own little list and her incentive/bribe was to go see Tangled. She loved the date we had and the movie.

Not sure how I feel about the whole bribery thing even though it produced results, but I loved spending one on one time with the kids.

let the winter begin

2010-12-16T19:54:00.002-05:00

Annual Temple Tailgate

2010-12-06T08:11:00.004-05:00

The last few years we have met up at the Washington D.C. Temple to view the lights and have some Hot cocoa and treats with some friends. The lights were beautiful this year.

We met up with Kevin's best bud, Jeremy, for just a bit in the Visitors Center. Next time we hope to see the rest of his family.

One of the fun things about going to the temple is that you never know who you might run into. These two lovely young ladies were two of my Young Women back in Virginia. They are both in College now and were on a Temple trip with some people from Buena Vista. It is great to see how the "kids" you teach grow up into wonderful young adults.

Always a great time!

Which one is your favorite

2010-11-30T07:06:00.003-05:00

They were taken with just a point and shoot camera by my hand, but we ended up with some good ones.

Jared 9 years old

Anna 6 Years old

Audrey 19 Months

Campfire

2010-11-19T19:36:00.005-05:00

The other day we went out on some friends property for a little family campfire. After a few wrong turns and many attempts at starting a fire our foil dinners were cooking and we were huddled up warm by the fire.

We also took out Jared's new BB gun and had a little target practice.

And of course a campfire wouldn't be a campfire with out some smores.

Nothing like some outdoor fun family time.

Jared's Birthday

2010-11-06T13:32:00.004-04:00

We had a family Birthday for Jared on the 29th and a friend Birthday party on the 1st. Jared loved all his presents from Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunts, and Uncles. He has already put things to use especially his Pocket knife from Aunt Allison and Uncle Tyler. (He passed off his Cub Scout knife skills the next day)

Jared hasn't had a friend Birthday party since he was 3 so we thought it was about time. He wanted to go bowling with a few friends so we headed out for pizza and some duck bowling. I think everyone had a nice time.

Jared is such a super great kid. Everyone who knows him tells us he is so nice, respectful, and kind. At the moment he loves Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Legos. He enjoys riding his bike around the neighborhood by himself (YIKES!), reading, soccer, and school. We love him so much!

Trick or Treat

2010-11-02T18:35:00.005-04:00

Our ward had a fun Halloween party on Saturday. There were games, food, and karaoke. Unfortunately our batteries died and ended up not getting one picture of everyone in their costumes. Audrey was a dinosaur, Jared was a wizard, and Anna was a rock star.

Not sure what to think of Karaoke.

"Candy! I want Candy!"

Getting off the hayride.
My mom made this costume for me when I was a little girl and it has been passed down to the grandkids. Apparently I was terrified of the tail. Audrey loved it.

Halloween night we ended up staying in and having a little family party. We carved pumpkins, made candied apples (which are really gross by the way), watching Halloween shows, and playing games.

Jared hard at work.

"Eww gross!"

Helping out with the gross stuff.

The edible pumpkin.

Pure sweetness!

Happy Halloween!

School Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-29T19:45:00.008-04:00

Anna had a school field trip to a nearby farm. They got to go on a tractor ride, play on some homemade toys, visit some baby animals, and pick their own pumpkins to take home. She had a blast.

Waiting for the fun to begin.

Sliding down the homemade trough slide.

She loved the little calf

The goat...not so much.

Anna's pumpkin. This pumpkin is so classic Anna. Apparently she picked the biggest pumpkin in the patch and rolled it across the grass to the bus. All the other kids had manageable sized pumpkins they all carried themselves and took back to their classrooms. Not Anna's pumpkin. Her pumpkin had to wait in the office till the end of school and then be carried by a teacher out to the car since it was too big for Anna to carry. Classic Anna!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2010-10-17T15:30:00.003-04:00

Uh...What cupcake?

Anna's Birthday

2010-10-13T20:51:00.003-04:00

Anna designed her cake and mom made it. It looks like if came out of a Dr. Seuss book, but Anna was so happy with it. She invited some church friends and some school friends for a Pajama Birthday Party. They played games, ate pizza, and had a pillow fight.

This is her birthday hat she got from school. She wore it ALL day.

We can't believe how fast she is growing up. We love her so much!

Apples

2010-09-25T12:16:00.004-04:00

One of the best things about the fall is Harvest time. We are lucky to live close to some farms where you can go out and pick your own fruit and vegetables. Last Saturday we headed out to one of these Farms for some Apples.

The hayride out to the orchard.

Mmmmmmmm.......

We love the Fall!

Kissy Kissy

2010-09-21T07:56:00.004-04:00

JARED: "Guess what? Anna kissed Luca today at school"

KEVIN: "WHAT!!!!"

JARED: "Yea. We were sitting with my friend and Anna asked if she was my girlfriend and if we kissed."

TIFFANY: "What did you say?"

JARED: "I said no."

TIFFANY: "I don't understand why Anna kissed Luca though."

JARED: "Well my friend saw Anna sitting next to Luca and said I'll kiss Jared if you kiss Luca. So she kissed him."

KEVIN: "Great. We are homeschooling!"

TIFFANY: "Lets just have friends for now, no boyfriends and girlfriends."

ANNA: "OK"

KEVIN: "And NO kissing. Anna don't you know, boys have coodies?"

ANNA: "They are OK"

KEVIN: "Well no kissing OK?

ANNA/JARED: "OK"

The Last Half of Summer

2010-09-06T07:26:00.006-04:00

This was the summer of Strep for our family. Annna got strep throat early in the June. No problem...10 days later with some penicillin and she was all better. Out in California Blake and Sara's Jacob was acting really grumpy and clingy and just not well. Within a week my throat felt awful. I've had strep many times and new right away what was wrong so we left Tahoe a day early and headed down the mountain to the ER for some more of that miracle drug penicillin. We called Blake and Sara, who were back in Hawaii, and let them know what we thought might be wrong with Jacob and they got him on the same antibiotic. Audrey, a few days later, ended up with strep as well. No problem just hand over the prescription and we will be fine. We spent about a week of our vacation in quarantine, but after about a day on penicillin we were all feeling much better. I guess I should mention that Sonnet came down with strep a few days after we left. Poor newly wed. A few days after we got home Anna started showing signs of strep again so we went to the doctor and got her another round of antibiotics, however this time through she started to complain about being itchy. With in 3 hours on day 7 of the antibiotic her legs went from white to blotch/fiery red. She was allergic to penicillin. I took about 10 days to two weeks before everything got out of her system and she wasn't itchy anymore. Let me just say that it was brutal. Anna felt like she was being eaten alive and there was nothing that helped except a luke warm oatmeal bath. She was miserable except when she was in the tub. Needless to say she spent most of the time in one.

This is a blurry picture, but you can make out a line along the pinky finger that shows most of her hand bright red. That would be hives. You can't tell, but her hand is also swollen.

Long story short: no more penicillin for Anna.

On a fun note: Kevin and I were able to go to an Orioles game with some friends. They get tickets from their work and invited us to go along. The seats were in the fourth row just behind the home dug out. We were so close I was worried we might get taken out by a foul ball. We did not use zoom for this next picture.

We had a lot of fun. We are spoiled now and I'm not sure we will be able to go back to the nose bleeder seats after enjoying a game so close up.

One of the last things we did before school started was go hiking with our pals the Johnsons.

We hiked to some little falls and the kids tried sliding down. Notice the face of terror on Anna.

The kids went exploring for salamanders, fish, and bugs and Audrey splashed around in a little pool of water.

It has been a fun summer, illnesses and all!

School

2010-09-03T17:40:00.003-04:00

School started this week for Jared and Anna. Jared has entered the I'm too cool for pictures phase. We did our best to capture the moment.

Anna was really excited about Kindergarten. She had her outfit picked out for days. I can't believe how fast they are growing up.

"Riding My Bicycle..."

2010-08-23T18:01:00.006-04:00

"...peddling along on a sum-sum-summers day"
My dad has really gotten into cycling this past year and Kevin has been biking more since his injury last year so when we had some down time in California the boys saddled up a few times with Christian and Jared for some bike trips. Jared was so excited to go with the big boys on the ride he couldn't fall asleep the night before due to excitement. I think he was the first one up as well.

Tahoe

2010-08-20T08:57:00.004-04:00

Our trip to Tahoe was so much fun. It was nice to get out of the hot valley and into the nice cool mountain air. We spent much of our time at what we call "The Cabin." The Cabin is a beautiful home in South Lake Tahoe owned by my mom's cousins. The Dunns have been going to the cabin since I was 11 (so many fun memories). We relaxed in the sun on the deck, hiked around the mountains, ate yummy food, and played lots of games. We also went to a little park with tennis courts and a lake and played around and swam.

Half way through the week we headed to Camp Richardson for a Arp/Dunn reunion. Camp Richardson is a campground that is connected to the beach, horse trails, hiking trails, and bike trails. We had so much fun visiting with family, riding bikes, camping out, eating marshmallows, swimming in the lake, and playing games.

Earlier in the week we called our friends, the Jaques, who live in Fallen and we met up in Reno at a water park. Cristy and her kids followed us up afterwords and we got to play with some of our old Virginia friends.

We loved our trip up to Tahoe.

Cooling Off

2010-08-07T09:07:00.009-04:00

More California Pictures:
Grandma and Grandpa set up a slip-n-slide out in the back yard.

This girl thinks she is a rock star.

The side kick slide.

"There is no way you are going to get me anywhere near that cold sprinkler water!"
Thanks to some friends of the families with pools we were able to keep cool during our stay in California.

We also floated the lower Kern once before the wedding reception and once before we flew home.

This was the half way point where we reapplied sunblock. The time we went before Blake and Sara's reception Sara and I got really burnt so weren't going to let that happen again. Nothing is more painful than being completely roasted and having to stand in a wedding line smiling and giving out hugs to people you haven't seen in years. OUCH!

Sonnet and Christian weren't the only love birds!
We also Spent some time in Tahoe for a family reunion and spent two days out at the lake, but pictures from that little trip will come in a later post.
We took a trip over to the beach.

We love the Avila Barn!

It was windy and a little cold, but that didn't stop us from having fun.

Sand every where!
We also made a stop at Moro Rock. There is a great museum for kids there I highly recommend.

We had such a fun time keeping cool in California

Melt My Heart

2010-08-05T13:39:00.003-04:00

I found this on my pillow last Night.

SONNET GOT MARRIED!

2010-08-03T12:35:00.010-04:00

WOOHOO! We were so excited when we heard that Sonnet would be getting married and even more excited when we met Christian. He truly is wonderful for her. We have tons of pictures from the wedding and vacation and it will take us a while to put them all up so here we go...
Karissa Ricks (good friend of the family) and I put together Sonnet's shower. It was so fun to see everyone who came to support Sonnet. We played a little trivia game about Sonnet and Christian preformed a song and opened up presents (not to mention eating lots of yummy food)

The Singers: Emily, Tiffany, and Sara

Our family that made it: Aunt Beverly, Aunt Kathy, Grandma Mahoney, Amanda, and Sara

Sonnet, Karissa Ricks, and Tiffany

On July 8th Sonnet and Christian were married, but before the sealing we had a lunch at the Temple apartments with friends and family

Christian and Sonnet with the Sealer President Gabbitas and his wife. (Brother Gabbitas taught our mom Seminary)

Waiting for lunch. Sonnet's best friend from College Diesel (Katie Davidson) was there.

Getting ready to go to the Temple

Loading up the dress.
"Has anyone seen Blake?"

Ever so helpful!
By the end of the day we ended up with a Mr. and Mrs. Weaver

Happy Couple

Kevin isn't in many pictures because when he wasn't taking the pictures he was wrestling with this little "monster"

Our new Brother

SVU friends Keriann and Diesel

Little Stinker stole the remote from the Temple Apartments
We couldn't be more happier for Sonnet and Christian!

30 and Still Kicking!

2010-06-19T17:56:00.005-04:00

Back in February I signed up to run in the Baltimore 10 miler along with some friends. We've been training since the end of March. Those first few runs were pretty rough, but after time a 3-5 mile run became a short work out and I began to look forward to my runs. The run was scheduled for the day after my 30th birthday and we joked it was my little midlife crisis to prove I could still do crazy athletic stuff.
This is us the night before the run getting our carbs from Olive Garden

Us before the race. Notice the happy smiling faces

Us after the race. Notice the sweaty happy smiling faces.

I'm so glad I did it, but also glad it is over.

"Thank You"

2010-06-17T07:31:00.002-04:00

These are Audrey's first words. She says them whenever you give her something or whenever she passes something to you. She says, "ank dooooo" and then stares you down until you respond with a thank you and a you're welcome. It is one of our favorite things she does.

Washing the Cars

2010-06-13T14:03:00.004-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T21:08:00.002-04:00

Warm weather, family hike, and swimming pool. Let the summer begin!

Goodbye Preschool

2010-05-29T16:00:00.006-04:00

Anna had her end of the year party. The day began with a little circle time where they got their diplomas, sang their friendship song, recited the pledge of allegiance, and other daily stuff

The party was at one of the kids house and they had a moon bounce, pizza, a playground, and the ice cream man. It was a fun way to say goodbye to friends and teachers.
"Hmmm which one do I want.....?"

"Snow cone!"

Anna and her best bud Brianna

Out side the moon bounce

"We love ice cream!"

Waiting for the party to start.

Cub Scouts

2010-05-28T16:54:00.004-04:00

Jared got his wolf the other night at the Blue and Gold dinner.
After the dinner and awards ceremony they had balloon animal making, origami, and animal bingo.

Lots of fun. He can't start working on his Bear till he turns 9 in October so for now we will be working on arrow points.

Soccer

2010-05-24T19:41:00.005-04:00

Jared has been playing soccer the last month and loving it. Mostly he plays goalie, but for one quarter he gets to play on the field. A few weeks ago he scored a goal. He could not have been more excited.

Tiffany is helping out as assistant coach. Mostly she spends the time during games doing this:

One more month of games. Go Ravens!

Gardening and Trashcans?

2010-04-26T15:00:00.005-04:00

Funny story. The other day we are at Home Depot picking out some veggies and some pots to plant them in. We pick out a few tomato plants and some pots for them to grow in. Nothing fancy just your old fashioned plastic flower pots.

We let Anna and Jared pick their own plant and a pot as well. Jared had some seeds from a scout activity he needed to plant and Anna picked out a strawberry plant. When it came to choosing a pot for Anna's plant we asked her if she wanted one like the the ones we had for our tomato plants. She, without hesitation, scrunches up her nose and says, "No way! I don't want one that looks like a trashcan!" Kevin and I lost it. We couldn't stop laughing. Maybe it's only funny if you know Anna, but we seriously could not stop. Anna ended up picking out a regular looking terracotta pot that we will paint someday.

Don't you just love her do it yourself outfit and hairdo? This is a girl who knows what she wants and does not settle for anything less. She is one of a kind!

Anna's Zoo Field Trip

2010-04-25T17:08:00.003-04:00

Anna and her posse Brianna and Disha

Anna and her carpool buddy Andy

Climbing on the railing at the Giraffe exhibit

Lots of fun! Audrey was a trooper and Anna loved all the animals. The weather held out for us and we can't wait to go again.

Our little One Year Old

2010-04-19T21:52:00.004-04:00

Audrey turned one this past week and we had a little family birthday for her. We web-camed with the Dunns in California for the event.

She loved all her presents from family and loved the frosting on her cake.

Audrey is our little adventurer. She loves to explore and climb. She is by far our biggest risk taker in the family. She loves to make us laugh. She certainly keeps us on our toes. Her favorite things to do are play in the utensil drawer, bang on the piano, be outside, climb anything and everything, play with her brother and sister. Her vocabulary consist of mom, dada, uh oh, Anna, bye bye, and ank oo (thank you) HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUDREY!

Spring Break

2010-04-07T15:01:00.008-04:00

We kicked off the week Monday night by coloring Easter eggs.

Anna's so sweet smile:

Jared's silly face:

Classic Audrey:

Finished Product:

The week was full of goings and comings. Kevin still had school so we stayed close to home but still had fun. Some of the fun included two Easter egg hunts.
Hunt #1: My "Cone Heads" waiting for the hunt to begin.

Some serious egg hunting going on:

Even Audrey got in on the action.

Not too bad!

Friday we ventured off to a park we had never been to. The kids called it the Tire Park. This was seriously a cool park. I only took two pictures, but you can kinda see in the background how everything is made of tires. It was a lot of fun and the kids really didn't want to go home.
Jared and the boys:

Anna's favorite spot. She spent almost the whole time on this swing. I was getting queasy just watching her.

Hunt #2 Held on Saturday at the Dunn's house (no relation that we know of)
Waiting for the hunt to start (this is Anna's new "Aurg matties" pirate face it is a variation of her "what the...?" face. She is one of a kind):

Waiting with friends:

And it begins, I think they ended up with 20 eggs each and there were about 30 kids there!

The spoils. Notice the color of Anna's eggs...yes we are egg snobs. Pink only please!

Easter morning we had our own little family egg hunt. The kids had fun finding their eggs. Audrey wasn't sure of what to make of everything, but was happy anyway.

After that morning we headed off to our friends the Johnsons for some pre-conference cinnamon rolls and then to watch the morning session of conference. The trees had been blossoming all week and our street and neighborhood was lined with beautiful blossoming trees. These were taken on our walk Easter morning.

Hope everyone had a fun filled beautiful Easter, I know we did!

Audrey is so Funny

2010-04-01T22:51:00.007-04:00

You've heard all the stories about babies and what kind of trouble they can get into like unrolling the toilet paper rolls, drawing on walls, falling down stairs, emptying out boxes of food, putting small items in mouth, taking off their own diapers, etc., but rarely you will find all the things kids could do into one package. Audrey is that package. This girl has done all of the above and more. She keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing. This girl is seriously funny! Here are a few examples of our silly Audrey.

Anna's Field Trip

2010-03-29T07:24:00.003-04:00

Anna's Preschool had a field trip to the Street Car Museum of Baltimore. They got to ride a few trains and learn about the history of this form of public transportation. Lots of fun!

SPRING

2010-03-26T18:51:00.005-04:00

Spring has sprung and not a moment too soon. It has been a long cold winter and we have been looking forward to warmer weather for some time now. Last Saturday was the first day of spring and it was a whopping 72 degrees so we loaded everyone up in the van and headed off to Oregon Ridge Park (after a quick stop to Ritas for some Italian Ice).

The boys played some baseball and the girls were in the outfield digging in the dirt. Audrey spent most of her time climbing and running around.

It was a fun way to celebrate the first day of Spring.

Happy St. Patricks Day

2010-03-17T11:16:00.006-04:00

IYE, All you Irishmen and women out there we join you in celebrating your day. Aunt Sonnet made sure we were decked out in our Irish green. Thank you Aunt Sonnet and Congratulations on your Engagement! We are so excited for you! Can't wait to meet Christian!

For Grandpa California

2010-03-15T21:20:00.008-04:00

I'm talking to my dad on the phone the other day and he begins to whine...oops I mean point out that there must be more to our missing few weeks without our computer than just one picture of Jared getting new glasses. He then says he lives for the updates from his grandchildren and kids. Here you are Dad. Some pictures from our last few weeks.
Pinewood Derby:

Jared won first place with his Orange and Red Virginia Tech car. VT is his team.
Building Forts:

Anna being Anna:

Audrey being Audrey:

We took a quick trip to BV one weekend. Unfortunately I only got one picture of the kids sleeping. They looked too cute.

And here is one more for you Dad. Hope you enjoy!

Glasses

2010-03-10T23:00:00.003-05:00

Our hansom boy now sports glasses.

Isn't he cute!

Out of Commission

2010-02-25T07:13:00.001-05:00

We will be out of commission for a little while. Our computer crashed and we are trying to save our pictures before we try a swipe. Wish us luck.

More of the Fluffy White Stuff

2010-02-11T16:16:00.007-05:00

This was taken on Wednesday during the storm. The wind was brutal

This is the back porch right before Kevin went out to dig. For before pictures scroll down to the previous post.

This little girl in snow pants (size 3T) almost makes all this snow worth it...Almost.

I think the official total for snow this winter is 86 inches. We are supposed to get from 5-8 more on Monday. Seriously it is time for some warmer weather!

Snow Much?

2010-02-07T15:23:00.006-05:00

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Saturday was spent waiting for the snow to stop and then digging ourselves out. After a while we ran out of room to put the snow. Can you believe they are calling for more snow this week! There is really no more room.

There is a great hill behind our house for sledding and we had a fun afternoon.

And it is Still Snowing

2010-02-06T07:52:00.002-05:00

A note from Audrey

2010-02-03T16:15:00.004-05:00

I really don't like to take naps!

P.S. from mom: She is totally zonked leaning against the rail with her binky upside down.

Walking

2010-01-24T15:56:00.006-05:00

Kevin asks me the other day, "Do you think we will ever have a baby that is happy to sit still?" I look around the table at Jared who walked at 8.5 months and hasn't stopped, Anna who walked at 9 months and hasn't stopped, Audrey who sat up on her own at 4 months and can't stand to be strapped in her car seat or high chair even to eat food. "I don't really think we get those kind of kids" was my reply. "Is it us? Do we make them the way they are?" asks Kevin. "I don't know, but I'm not sure what we could have done differently to slow them down. If they want to move then they are just going to move" was my answer. Little did I know that within 24 hours of that comment Audrey would decide she was ready to move. So at 9.5 months we have another walker in the family.

Duck Bowling

2010-01-21T17:02:00.002-05:00

We had never heard of duck bowling prior to living in Maryland. Apparently Baltimore claims the birthright for this game/sport. We had heard a lot about it and that it was especially fun for kids so we thought we would give it a try. We went a few weeks ago and had a lot of fun. Duck bowling is like regular bowling only with smaller pins and smaller balls. The pins are about half the size of regular pins and the balls are about the half the size of a regular ball and it doesn't have finger holes.

Jared and Anna had fun. The balls are really light so even Anna could throw the ball all by herself. Jared got really into it and even ended up with a few strikes. Anna even had a strike and her whole face lit up with excitement. Can't wait to go again.

Preschooler

2010-01-04T16:50:00.004-05:00

This little girl has been counting down the days to her first day of preschool. She was so excited to go today. She had her coat, shoes, and backpack on long before it was time to leave the house.

She came home smiling and even now hours latter just asked me if she gets to go to school everyday. Tonight she is in charge of our FHE lesson. Can you guess what she will be teaching us about?

2009-12-26T09:16:00.001-05:00

Alaska Trip

2009-12-21T17:22:00.011-05:00

Kevin took a quick trip this weekend up to Alaska to visit with his Grandma who's health is failing. I made him take the camera with strict instructions to take lots of pictures. It looked like they all had a lot of fun and I wish we could have all made it up with him. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Hot tubing in zero degrees and yes I think that is snow falling down.

Sunset. This has a special name, but I'm not sure what it is called.

Grandma Jenkins

Cousins: Austin, Lydia, Noah, and Ethan. Kevin said these guys were so much fun and he can't wait for our kids to get up there and meet them.

Parks kids on Uncle Ryan's back.

Kevin with the Keith and Amanda Parks Family

Kevin with Allison and Tyler Clark Family
When he stepped off the plane and made his way to the car this is what he found:

Poor guy had to dig himself out with no shovel at 11:00 pm. We are glad to have our dad back. We sure did miss him while he was away, but are glad he was able to make the trip.

SNOW!

2009-12-20T07:33:00.002-05:00

Wish I had the camera to take pictures of the three feet of snow we got yesterday, but Kevin has it in Alaska this weekend (more on that later). So, the biggest snow fall over a 24 hour period for Maryland in about 30 years happened yesterday. As I look out the front window for our van all I see is a big marshmallow. I can't even open the back door for the 2-3 feet of snow that would come tumbling into the house. The kids played out in it yesterday, even Audrey who by the way is NOT a fan. Church was canceled today so we are spending another day staying warm and toasty inside. I think our Home Teachers might come over and attempt to dig out our marshmallow car since Kevin is out of town and doesn't get back till late tonight.
Kevin went for a fast trip to Alaska to visit his Grandma. Her health is failing and he wanted the chance to express his love and appreciation for her in person one last time. I sent the camera with him so he could take pictures of all the cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas we don't get a chance to see often. I'm sure there will be a post with pictures from that trip to come. In the mean time we remain berried in snow here in Maryland.

The Human Vacuum

2009-12-11T11:10:00.003-05:00

Nothing in our house is safe from the 2 foot human vacuum. Audrey will put just about anything in her mouth. Sometimes she swallows, but mostly she just chews. Her chew toy of choice is a box of jello.

I've had to move these boxes up a few rows so she can't reach them, but that doesn't stop her from trying. She is the funniest little girl ever.

Visit from Grandpa and Grandma

2009-11-14T22:33:00.005-05:00

We were able to visit last week with Grandpa and Grandma California. They have been visiting the East coast for over 10 years now since Sonnet and I went to college in Virginia, but we were able to fit in some firsts for this trip. The day after they flew in there was a "lawful assembly" in front of the Capitol building in protest to the health care proposal that was being voted on the following day. This was my first time participating in something like this and I must say it was a good experience.

We were also able to take Grandpa and Grandma to the National Zoo. It was freezing, but we had a fun time. Anytime we saw one of these statues we would have to pose for a picture with it. One day I'm sure we will get a picture with all the statues in the park.

We also went to Fort McHenry. Now that was amazing. Learning the History of our Nation and the valiant people who laid their lives on the line so we could be free is always a wonderful experience.
We also were able to get some Parks family pictures while they were here. Grandma use to do photography so I always like to take advantage of her expertise. Here are some nice and silly pictures from that day.

We had so much fun with Grandpa and Grandma California the kids didn't want them to leave. Anna cried the whole way home from dropping them off at the airport. She asked Heavenly Father in her prayers tonight to, "Please help us see Grandma again soon." They are so sweet. Someday...Someday we will live closer to family...Someday...

Jared's Baptism

2009-11-07T20:15:00.009-05:00

Our little man was baptized today. I can't believe how big he is. It was a really nice program. One of his Primary teachers spoke on baptism and she said some really nice things about Jared.

(Jared and his primary teacher Sister Hawes)
Kevin baptized Jared and Andy Johnson and Grandpa California were the witnesses. The water was a bit cold so when Jared came up out of the water he had a bit of a shocked look on his face. Anna has been worried for Jared about going under the water so when she saw his face she blurted out the question, "Are you OK Jared?" Jared kind of chuckled and reassured his sister that he was OK.

After Kevin and Jared changed Grandma California and I sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" and then Grandpa California Gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. After his conformation the Primary President and the Bishop welcomed Jared into the ward and bore their testimonies.

(Grandpa and Grandma California)

(Conformation Circle: Sam Wilkinson, Todd Benner, Quin Briggs, Grandpa California, Kevin, Paul Anderson, Andy Johnson, Bishop Rothlisberger)
Jared planned the whole program from the songs to the people involved. He has been looking forward to this for a while. Tonight for prayers he asked Heavenly Father to help him choose the right. After the prayer he turned to me and said, "I really hope I can choose the right." I told him that he already does and we love him so much. He is such a blessing and we are truly blessed to have him as a part of our family.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T22:03:00.006-05:00

Friday we headed off the the ward Halloween party. We ate some yummy soup and salad and the kids played some games and then went outside for a little trunk or treating. Jared was dressed as OBeOne Kanobee (no idea how to spell that name), Anna was Fancy Nancy, and Audrey was a little birdie.

After the activity we stayed behind to help clean up and I just had to take some pictures of the kids. Did any of you out there ever do this when you were kids?

I remember a wood floor gym and getting some pretty good speed out of these things. I also remember getting in trouble for riding on them as well. Funny how kids find the same things to play with generations down.
Last night we met at some friends house for some pre-trick-or-treating snacks and playing. After a few pictures we headed out into the rainy night for some trick or treating.

The kids made out really well in the candy department and our supply should last through Easter I think. Lots of fun. Hope you all had a great Halloween.

Happy Birthday!

2009-10-30T14:44:00.004-04:00

Jared turned 8 on Thursday. We had a nice little family dinner with some friends. Jared wanted pizza and an ice cream cake. So we had frozen pizza (Food Lion is his favorite) and I made a chocolate/vanilla cake/ice cream cake. He loved all his presents from family. Anna wrapped some presents for him and it was sweet to watch her excited face as Jared opened them. It was also funny to watch Jared try to be diplomatic about getting a fairy craft that Anna had made for him. This picture captures it the best.

Aunt Sonnet was the best sending two books to complete a series we had started and Star Wars legos. She was the only one to get an, "Oh man I love you! I love you!" Jared had a great day and we plan on celebrating his birthday along with grandma California's sometime next week with a little good old fashion Maryland duck bowling. Also he will be baptized next Saturday! Wow I can't believe how big he has grown.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-25T14:44:00.004-04:00

We finally got to our pumpkins this year. We ended up picking them out at the local Giant. We had planned on going to a farm and picking pumpkins, but it rained every Saturday this month. Jared and Anna didn't mind. It seems that picking out pumpkins in a store is just as excited as on a farm. Hear are some pictures from the evening.

Jared chose to carve a storm trooper from Star Wars into his pumpkin and Anna chose a cat. By this I mean they chose Dad to carve a storm trooper and Mom to carve a cat in their respective pumpkins. It was a fun family night.

Nothing in Particular

2009-10-09T17:25:00.007-04:00

Nothing in particular has been happening in our neck of the woods. Just regular everyday stuff. Kevin is in the thick of things at school. He takes off every morning around 7:00 and comes home somewhere in the 5:00 hour. Tuesdays and Thursdays he has physical therapy and Wednesdays he has Young Mens. When he is not at school, physical therapy, or Young Mens he is studying whatever test he has that week. Even though he stays busy during the day he takes time every night (except Wednesdays) to read to and put the kids to bed.

They love their time with their dad.
Jared has been counting down the days for his 8th birthday. He gives us hints everyday as to what would make good birthday presents. Anything Star Wars for those who are interested. What a funny kid.
Anna Audrey and I get to hang out during the day. Since it has been warm lately that has included some walks and bike rides on her new bike. Mostly she like to spend her time outside adding to her rock and stick collection.
Audrey is a hoot. She loves her brother and sister. As soon as Jared and Anna go to bed Audrey turns into a little grump. She could spend all day watching and smiling at them. The other day I left her down with Jared and Anna to "play" with them and this is what I found when I went to check on them.

A few days before I had asked Anna to keep and eye on her while I went to get some laundry and this is what I found.

Don't ask. I have no idea.
Audrey has added crawling to her list of talents this past week and we will need to start baby proofing our house. We haven't ever done that before, but I am certain that Audrey would be the one to stick something in an electrical socket. Here are some pictures of her over the past week. She is so darn cute.

Happy Birthday Anna!

2009-09-26T16:48:00.011-04:00

Anna woke up Saturday morning so excited for her birthday party. This was her first friend birthday party and she has been counting down the days for about a month now. We planned a cooking birthday party. I saw this idea online somewhere and fell in love with it. After I mentioned cupcake decorating Anna was on board. When her friends got here we went to work decorating their aprons with buttons and sequins. After everyone was done we went to work at the "Pizzeria" making their own mini pizzas. It was funny to watch them pile on the cheese and other toppings.

After the pizzas were in the oven we went to the "Ice Cream Shop" to play a game of pin the ice cream on the cone. They each took a turn adding a "flavor" of ice cream to the top of the same cone.

We then went to the "Bakery" to decorate some cupcakes. Their was more candy topped on the cupcakes than frosting!

After that the girls ate their pizzas and had cake and ice cream and opened up presents.

Anna had so much fun having her friends around and playing with them. She was beaming! Thank you to all who came and to Grandma's, Grandpa's, and Aunts who sent gifts. You all made her day a special one.

Patrick and Jenna's Wedding

2009-09-21T07:14:00.000-04:00

My cousin, Patrick, got married this weekend here just outside of Baltimore so we got to go. It was a nice service. My Aunt is a retired Reverend and has been able to marry each of her children. She did a nice job. After the ceremony there was a reception with all the traditions. Jared spent most of the evening sitting at the table watching and eating and Anna spent most of the evening dancing. That little girl has some moves! It was really nice to be able to go. The wedding happened really fast due to some health issues in the brides family so we ended up being the only extended family there on the grooms side. We really enjoyed being a part of their special day.

Rubba Dub Dub...

2009-09-16T21:09:00.002-04:00

They will probably kill me one day for posting these pictures, but I love them. We have this huge tub and Audrey can sit up now so after playing in the leaves this evening I put them all in the tub.

Yummmm...Peas!

2009-09-06T14:46:00.003-04:00

I was feeding Audrey some peas for lunch the other day while Jared and Anna were at the pool with Kevin when the Missionaries knocked on the door. I left Audrey in the highchair and went to answer the door, but since I was home alone we chatted on the front porch. When I came back inside I found this:

Don't you love the "hand caught in the cookie jar" look. I guess she really loves her peas.

School!!!!

2009-09-01T08:22:00.006-04:00

The first day of school for Jared finally arrived. He has been anxious to start the new year. We bought his supplies from the classroom list a few weeks ago and they have been sitting in the corner like a neon sign flashing "SCHOOL"

Don't get me started on the supply list. This year we had an activity fee on top of the supply list. I find it absolutely ridiculous (sorry to all those teachers out there) that we have to supply the schools with paper, glue sticks, crayons, markers, scissors, wipes, tissue, etc.... I mean we already pay money in taxes for the schools. I guess instead of taxes going to where it should go I can take comfort in the fact that it is actually going to good causes in the private sector (ie. bailouts) insert sarcasm. Anyway, back to the main event. Jared was excited to start school this year. He is going to a new school this year. It is a Magnet school for multi age learning. We have to drive him everyday (I miss the bus!), but so far we are enjoying the extra time in the car to visit and sing to the radio.

Before I dropped him off I told him I couldn't wait to hear all about his new school. He sighed and said, "Oh man! That means a lot of questions doesn't it?" I just laughed. After he jumped in the car I asked him how his day went and he exclaimed, "It was awesome!" And then didn't stop talking until we were home 20 minutes later. Can't wait to see what this new school year will bring.

Funny Kids

2009-08-29T08:07:00.007-04:00

When you wear these everyday for the past two months you get...

Raccoon eyes!

When you put curlers in your hair (please excuse the chocolate ice cream face) you get...

"Auugg! I look like a lion!"
When you put Parks and Dunn awesome genes together you get... 4 month old baby sitting up all by herself!

Keeping Cool

2009-08-21T15:29:00.000-04:00

We have been at the pool almost everyday for the past month and having tons of fun. Jared is quite the simmer and loves to dive for toys at the bottom of the pool. He always has his goggles on which has given him a nice white ring around his eyes. Anna started the summer off swimming with a life jacket, but doesn't use it anymore. she doesn't go far from the edge, but is gaining confidence in her swimming abilities. Audrey enjoys the water too. It has been really nice living close to the pool so we could keep cool this summer

Four Month Old Audrey

2009-08-17T11:11:00.005-04:00

Audrey had her four month check up and weighed in a whopping 16 lbs and 7 oz putting her in the 95% for wieght and the 90% for height at 25.5 inches long. She is rolling over now and grabbing at anything that is in her eyesight. She drools a lot which makes us think that teeth are on their way. She is so much fun and loves to laugh with Jared and Anna. She received two shots today and laughed during the first shot and scowled for the second. Can't wait to see what the next few months will bring.

Anna or Audrey?

2009-08-13T17:45:00.006-04:00

I showed Anna this picture and asked her who it was. "Audrey." she says.

"Nope. It's you when you were a baby. Can you believe it?" I reply

"Thats crazy!" was Anna's reply.

This is Audrey:

Funny how alike they look.